


Take Two Mr. Munroe

by XthirteenX



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Anxiety Attacks, Drinking to Cope, Mental Health Issues, Mike-Centric, Multi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Hatred, Separation Anxiety, Team as Family, Time Loop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-10
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-01-31 10:01:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12679602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XthirteenX/pseuds/XthirteenX
Summary: One minute he couldn't feel the lower half of his body and he was flicking his lighter, the whole world glowing hot and bright. And then the next minute he was standing in the guest room, watching Hannah undo the top button of her shirt again. Just like the year before. Or… tonight. He wasn’t sure anymore.Or, Michael Munroe gets a second chance. One year ago he lost two friends. The next year he lost the rest of them. But this time, they were all going to get out alive. He just hoped that it was real.





	1. February 3rd, 2015 - Dawn

Sam’s body hit the floor. That was everyone. Her head thumped against the wooden floor and he hated that she landed faced him. Her eyes rolled back in her head but even from across the room he could see that they were dull and empty. A pool of blood staining the ground under her stomach. 

He was alone now and that thing, Hannah-a little voice in his head reminded him, was focused on him. The gas was still hissing silently across the room. He could see it warping the air around it in tiny waves. 

He couldn’t move he realized, his back was numb and when he tried to pull his legs under him to stand up they wouldn’t respond. He couldn’t even feel them. His hand curled tighter around the warm metal of his lighter. 

His neck ached from where Hannah had snapped his head to the side. He couldn’t believe it hadn’t broken his neck. Everything had gone black for a few seconds when he hit the floor. But he could still move it, slowly and painfully, but it moved. Unfortunately his back seemed to be a different story. 

Not that it mattered now anyway.

Hannah was hissing and screeching in his direction. He couldn’t let her leave. The smaller wendigoes, the miners, were still somewhere in the house. They had followed Sam and himself inside. Or maybe they followed Hannah. She was in here first. Maybe they had been coming to her. But they were all here. Some torn apart by Hannah. But some of them still had to be running around. 

He could take them all out right now. He had to. He was the only one left. 

Even flicking the lighter open took more effort than it should have. Everything hurt. But he still felt like laughing. It was just him and Hannah together now. Alone. Like she had always wanted. 

But it wasn’t Hannah anymore. Not the sweet, naïve, eager Hannah who always gave him those shy little smiles and played with her hair. This thing was all teeth and bones and hunger. Sam’s blood coating one clawed hand. It wasn’t Hannah. He wasn’t killing Hannah. He was saving her. He was a fucking hero. 

“Ha!” The thing’s head snapped toward him as he pressed his thumb against the little ribbed wheel, “Ha! How’s that feel you fuck?!” The flame lit up on the first try. Mike turned his face away instinctively but the fire swelled up in a roar all around him. The wendigo was screeching and if he thought everything hurt before, he was an idiot. 

There wasn’t even smoke filling his lungs. It was just fire. Melting his skin, burning his clothes, shattering the windows. And he can feel himself slipping. Not even time to scream like the wendigo got. Just fire and heat and pain and then-

And then it's happening again.


	2. February 2nd, 2014 - Take Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the short first chapter, I'm still working on deciding how long I want the chapters to be but this one is definitely a little longer and hopefully I can try to keep this length for future chapters

And then it's happening again. 

Everything. 

The sound of Jess's, oh god Jess, snicker coming from beneath the bed and Emily's giggling shush. They sounded so happy. Having so much fun. At the expense of their friend. Mike’s head swam. He wasn’t burning. He wasn’t freezing. The lodge was comfortable and warm. He was wearing his flannel, the thick yellow and blue checkered one, with the blue button up that Emily had bought him underneath it. 

What was happening?

Then came Hannah's humiliated whisper. Her arms coming up to cover herself as everyone stepped out of their hiding places. Like some fucked up game of peek-a-boo. The door swinging open and Sam's sympathetic voice.

And then Hannah is running.

It's happening again. And everyone is just standing there. 

But this time, Mike doesn't need to ask himself whether they should go after her. He doesn't stay to hear Sam chew them out. He's already taking the stairs two at a time, three when he can manage it without feeling like he's going to fall to his death. Being cautious and safe and slow didn’t help Jessica and it wouldn’t help Hannah now either. 

Beth's voice calls something out from behind him, he doesn't stop to listen. She was in the kitchen. She would follow the group as they all stepped outside. And that would be the last time they saw her. When she ran out after Hannah and no one followed. But not this time. Not now. He can see the trail of Hannah's footprints in the snow. A flash of black. Her hair? Her shirt? 

And he's running. Running like he ran to Jess. He doesn't call her name. Tearing through the tree line isn't exactly silent with the near deafening crunch of snow under his shoes, but it's better than throwing up a glowing neon sign for the wendigo. 

Then Hannah is there. Only a few feet ahead of him. He runs harder. His lungs burn and his muscles ache, everything aches, but he keeps running. For a second he is afraid he'll be running forever. That this isn't real and he will be chasing Hannah forever. 

But his outstretched hand brushes her back, she lets out a short cry of distress that sounds like music to Mike's ears. She's alive. Warm and human, soft and solid, and not screeching like some bat from hell.

He had to be faster. He could have saved Jess. If he was faster. Just a little faster. If he had tried harder- he was going to try harder. He was going to try harder than anything he’d ever tried in his life. He could save her now.

He surges forward, tackling her like he might have with Matt during a mock game of football. They hit the snow hard and he's thankful for a moment that the fresh layer of snow hadn't been trampled down into a block of ice yet. Snowflakes fluttered up around them from the impact and Hannah twists under him. 

Her face is red and puffy, eyes and cheeks swollen with tears, the tip of her nose as red as Rudolph's. Her glasses are lopsided on her face and fogged up lightly. Her skin flushed with sadness but also life. He'd never seen anything more beautiful. 

"M-Mike?" Her voice was trembling. With tears or the cold he couldn't tell. He put a hand over her mouth and she looked like he had slapped her. He might have actually. It was less than gentle. And all five fingers were there, he noticed, even his little one. 

"Hannah?!" Beth's voice called out behind them. Don't move. The flamethrower guy's, they should have asked for his name, voice chanted in his head. Don't move. Don't move. Don't move.

He held Hannah still under his body. She was still trembling. He prayed that they wouldn't be able to see it through him. He might not have been the most religious person in the world but he was praying now to whoever was listening. Prayed that he would be steady enough to keep them both hidden. To keep them safe. 

"Hannah? Mike?" It was right behind them now. Every muscle burned with the effort of staying completely still. God he wished they couldn't mimic sounds. Voices. Beth had never said his name much before but he would never take it for granted again if it was actually her.

The snow crunched beside them and tiny Beth sized hands shoved at his shoulder. 

"Oh my God, Hannah." Beth's voice was soft and dripping with concern, "You must be freezing." Hannah's mouth opened beneath his hand and her breath was hot against his skin. 

"Mike? Get off of her." Beth shoved at his shoulder again. He did. And Beth was pulling Hannah up. Brushing the snow off of her arms and out of her hair. Shushing her gently as Hannah sobbed into her shoulder. 

"Shut up. Both of you." His voice came out harsher than he meant for it to. They both looked at him with identical bewildered expressions. 

"You don't exactly get to make orders right now you dick." Beth snapped back. 

"You don't understand." Mike's fingers throbbed and his entire body felt like it was burning, "We have to get back to the lodge. Now." 

"M-Mike?" Hannah's voice was still thick with tears and wavering. So confused and embarrassed. He hated it. The way it sounded just like the last thing she said to him before… "Now. Please." He would get on his knees for them and grovel if it would get them inside faster. He could hear the desperation in his voice and judging from the looks on their faces they could hear it too. 

There was a screech from further in the woods and Mike's heart came to a sudden stop. Hannah and Beth both turned to look for the sound.

"What the hell was that?" Beth asked. 

"Run."

"What?" Their attention was back on him.

"Run!" And he was shoving at their backs. Towards the lodge. Not away. Not towards that thing. There was a familiar roar of fire and another screech. 

The twins were running and he kept pace right behind them. Hannah's black shirt and Beth's offensively pink jacket were hard to lose sight of. 

The lodge was in sight. Not a single char on it. And everyone was standing out front in the snow. Jess with her twin braids. Emily with her arms crossed over her chest. Sam running to meet them. Sam caught Hannah in a hug and the girl collapsed against her sobbing.

"Oh Han..." Sam's voice reeked of sympathy.

"Get inside now!" Everyone was staring at him like he was some kind of a freak and he didn't care. Pushing Beth and Hannah towards the open door. Sam glared at him over Hannah's shoulder. Ashley was inside first. Matt followed her and Emily and Jess followed him, their arms linked together. 

Four inside. Six, he reminded himself, Josh and Chris were still slumped over the bar in the kitchen. Then Beth was inside. Seven. Sam and Hannah crossed the doorway together. Nine. He closed the door behind himself, clicking the lock into place. Ten. Everyone was inside.


	3. February 2nd, 2014 - 3 AM

"Michael, what the hell?" Emily was glaring at him. 

"Lock the doors." His voice was trembling. 

"What?" Emily sounded offended. 

"All the doors. Lock them." His voice was steadier this time. Stronger. “Lock the freaking doors.”

"Okay Man." Matt's voice was calm, placating, like Mike was some kind of startled animal. But Matt was moving, locking the front door, and Mike could have kissed him. Christ on a cracker there were a lot of windows in the lodge. Hannah was moving to the stairs, Sam at her side supporting her. Mike was grabbing them before he knew he was moving.

"Jeez Mike." Sam looked at him with the same bewildered expression the twins gave him earlier. 

"Everyone needs to stay together." The trembling was back in his voice. And the confusion on Sam's face gave way to concern. "No more splitting up." 

Panic was edging its way in. Emily and Matt split up. Matt dies. Emily dies. Because of him. Chris splits up. Chris dies. Ashley and Sam split up. Ashley dies. Mike and Josh split up...  
"No more splitting up." It was worth saying twice.

"Fuck Mike, you're shaking." Emily's voice was tinged with concern and her hand was on his shoulder. "Come sit down." And she was leading him to the couch. Pushing him down and sitting right beside him, her thigh warm against his. Sam said something in the distance and the footsteps on the stairs resumed. 

It was some kind of choked off plea that came out rather than words but Emily was cupping his face in her hands. Thumbs brushing over his cheekbones and her eyes meeting his.

"Did you hit your head or something out there?" Her voice was hard but he could see the concern in her eyes. Both eyes. 

He was hugging her, practically pulling her into his lap, burying his face in her shoulder. She smelled soft and sweet like the matching perfume and lotion that she always used to use. The set that came with a bubble bath that Jess got Emily as a gift. She hadn’t worn that perfume in a year. Not since Jess and her had that fight. But Emily smelled familiar, safe, and her hands were petting his hair. Mike wanted to cry.

“You guys are safe. You guys are safe.” The words felt like acid on his tongue. The last time he said them it was to Sam and Ashley. Emily slumped against the wall behind her. Her blood splattered behind her. Dead by his hand. Sam and Ashley terrified of him. Moving as far from him as they could get. But they were safe now. Actually safe. “It’s over.” He couldn’t stop the words. 

"Is he okay?" The cushion beside them sank down and Jess's anxious voice was right beside him. "He's like freaking out."

"Jess." Her name came out sounding less worshipful than it felt, the name sticking on his tongue like a fluffer nutter. Her hand touched his shoulder and he was pulling her into the hug too. Emily and Jess let out identical little 'oof'-s of surprise as he clung to them both. Both of them warm and whole and alive. 

"What happened out there...?" Ashley's tentative voice asked from the kitchen. Mike didn't have to look up to know she would be standing by Chris. Where he was slumped over on the counter. Drunk and asleep. His head still attached to his body. 

“I don’t- I don’t know.” Ashley probably couldn’t even hear him. His face was still smashed into Emily’s shoulder. “I don’t know.” It didn’t make sense. He should be dead. They all should be dead. 

There were footsteps on the stairs again and Emily dropped a kiss on the top of Mike's head. 

"What's wrong Baby?" She was talking softly, quiet so no one else would hear. Well, no one but him and Jess. He must have really freaked her out for her to be so concerned. But her voice made the tears start up again. Burning behind his eyes and soaking into the shoulder of her jacket. One of her hands, or maybe one of Jess’s, was rubbing his back in wide circles. Emily’s hand still petting through his hair and her head was resting on top of his. Her lavender or jasmine or cherry blossom scent surrounding him. Jess was still smashed up against his chest and against Emily’s side.

"What the hell you guys? How could you do that to Hannah? I thought you were her friends!" Sam's voice was harsh and only a few feet away. If it was anything like last year then she was probably glaring at Jess and Emily the most. Her hands on her hips, forehead creased with anger. 

"It was just supposed to be a prank..." Ashley's voice was small, "How were we supposed to know she'd go running outside...?" 

They were talking about Hannah like she wasn't there. Mike lifted his head from Emily's shoulder, peering over Jess's blond head and twisting his neck this way and that to look for her. 

"Hannah?" His voice was wrecked. Everyone turned to look at him and Mike only let himself be embarrassed for a moment that they all were seeing him cry. He hadn't even cried when the bear trap-

"She's in her room. Surprise, surprise, she doesn't exactly want to see any of you right now." Sam's arms were crossed now, one hip cocked out to the side. 

"No more splitting up." He could feel the desperation in his own voice. Sliding Jess and Emily back onto the couch only took a second and then he was standing up, moving right in front of Sam. 

"Mike?" Sam was frowning now. 

"We need to keep everyone safe." Mike said under his breath. He could trust Sam. Sam could do it. Protect them. She was with him right up to the end. They had almost made it. She almost made it, but she protected him. She chose to help him and she died. Because of him.

"Mike, everyone is fine?" Sam was searching his face for answers that he couldn’t give. He couldn’t explain it. There was no way that he _could_ explain it. Even if she didn’t think he was completely insane by the end of it, she wouldn’t understand.

"Please?" His voice cracked in the middle of the word. He cleared his throat. It was ridiculous. He made it through the whole night like a badass and now that everything was fine he was blubbering like a baby. 

"What's going on?" Matt walked over, his eyes focused on Mike’s hand gripping Sam’s arm. He hadn’t even realized that he grabbed her but his grip was so tight his knuckles were white. It must have been hurting her but she hadn’t said a word. He let go quickly and let his arm fall back to his side. Sam brought her other hand up to rub the place where he had been holding her. Even now he was messing things up. Hurting people. 

"Michael. What will keep everyone safe?" Sam asked, her voice even and soft, like how she talked to Josh in the mines. Not that she remembered it.

"I don't- I don't know." His head was pounding, "The basement. Everyone needs to go to the basement. Somewhere safe." His breaths were coming faster. There was a faint buzz still going through his body and it made him feel fuzzy. He hadn’t drank that much. Not for him. Not like Josh and Chris had. He joined them for a round of shots, maybe two. But other than that it was just beer. He wasn’t drunk but his head was spinning like he was already hungover. Queasiness making his stomach fold over itself uneasily. 

“We are not going to sit in some freezing basement all night Michael.” Emily’s voice didn’t leave any room for argument. 

“Then somewhere else.” It wasn’t like he really wanted to be in the basement again either but they had to decide fast. Get somewhere secure. A safe room. Someplace where the wendigo wouldn’t be able to get to them easily. If the flamethrower guy couldn’t get it contained. 

“The movie room then?” Jess suggested, still sitting where Mike had left her on the couch. Her hair was shorter, he noticed. In little, kind of curled but not really, pigtails that reminded him of tiny tornados. Not the double braids she was wearing the last time he saw her. Laying in the mine shaft. Practically naked, covered in blood, her jaw-

"I'll talk to Hannah." Sam was still frowning but she nodded and relief flooded Mike's chest. 

"We need to move Chris and Josh." Mike turned to Matt who nodded immediately. Reliable Matt. He used to always be able to trust Matt to have his back. Before the whole thing with Em. And this was before that. Matt, at this time, was single. Emily was still with him. 

"Sure Man." His voice was steady and he followed Mike to the kitchen. 

"What is going on?" Ashley's voice took on a bit of a desperate whine as she looked around at everyone for answers. Mike went to Josh's side. Josh looked better. He wasn't as underweight, the dark circles under his eyes weren't as bad, and he was asleep. Just asleep, Mike reminded himself, as he lifted Josh off of the barstool. He was heavier than Mike remembered but it was a welcome weight. 

It wasn’t until now that Mike could really see the difference. But when they came back for the anniversary Josh looked horrible. He was sick. Underweight, his skin pale and sallow, and manic. Always talking and moving. Acting like some kind of parody of himself. The Josh that he was this night, or the night a year ago?, that was the last time that Josh seemed actually happy. Even if he had spent most of it drinking. That probably hadn’t been healthy behavior either.

Matt put Chris over one shoulder and looked to Mike. 

"If he pukes on me, I'm blaming you." Matt said.

"Send me the bill." Mike said as he half dragged Josh toward the movie room. No windows. Two doors. Easily secured. No weapons. But as long as they stayed still it would be fine. It had to be fine. 

Ashley was already curled up in one of the plush movie chairs and Matt deposited Chris in one nearby her. Mike pushed Josh into the chair beside Chris. They would like that. Being near each other. Emily and Jess followed them in. Mike walked to far door next. The one that led to the basement. It only felt like a few minutes ago, half an hour at most, when the miner’s horrifying bodies were crawling all over the walls and coming through that door. 

He gripped the edge of the door tight. He could practically see them. Their fanged mouths gaping open as they hissed and screeched. Hanging from the ceiling and walls. Chasing them down. His stomach turned and the door under his hand felt slick with sweat. He pushed the door closed firmly and turned the lock. He jiggled the doorknob afterwards to make sure that it was actually locked. Only one entrance now. Seven people in the room. Sam and the twins weren't inside yet. 

Mike was halfway to the large double doors when they came in. Sam and Beth like guard dogs on either side of Hannah who was staring at the floor rather than looking at any of them. She was bundled up in a thick sweater. She wasn't shivering. They walked past Mike and sat down together on the opposite side of the room. Mike pulled the doors in and locked them. He’d never been so grateful for the Washington’s abundance of lockable doors.

Ten. Everyone was inside. Everyone was safe.


	4. February 2nd, 2014 - Three Hours Until Dawn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh I'm sorry for the delay, I've had this chapter almost finished for so long and I just kept coming back to it trying to fix it up a bit but I guess it's been long enough so I am just going to post it anyway!

"Should... we put on a movie or are you going to tell us why we’re barricaded in here?" Matt asked after a few minutes of tense silence, twisted in his seat to look at Mike. Almost everyone else had seated themselves throughout the room. Hannah, Sam, and Beth were all down closest to the screen, off to the right. Josh, Chris, and Ashley were at the back of the room in the three seats near the door to the hallway. Matt was sitting in the center row on the far left. Jess a couple feet down from him on the couch, a throw pillow resting on her lap. Right in the center of the room. 

"Nothing with sports." Emily said immediately from beside Mike. “I’m vetoing that right now Matt.”

"What do you have against sports movies?" Matt was only mock offended as he turned further in his seat to look at her, resting one arm over the back of the leather recliner.

"They are all the exact same thing. You've seen one, you've seen them all." Emily scoffed. 

"Oh like chick flicks are any better." Matt rolled his eyes. The bickering was familiar. Safe. And the distraction from the question helped. He couldn’t tell them, right? He wouldn’t believe it if he heard it. 

Mike sat down beside Jessica on the one long couch like seat in the room and felt Emily's eyes on him immediately. Jess was watching him too. Honestly it felt like everyone was. Behind them Ashley moved out of her seat to look at all of the movies in the Washington's collection. 

"Will someone just pick something? This room is kind of freaky without the TV on." Ashley complained as she passed by one of the framed movie posters on the wall. Emily stomped away from Matt with a huff and sat down gracefully on the arm of the couch closest to Mike. 

He put an arm out behind her, the purple fabric of her jacket was soft and fuzzy under his palm. Emily took the movement as an invitation and let herself slip down from the arm of the chair and into it beside him. It was a little tight and Mike scooted closer to Jess to make more room. Emily made herself comfortable and when she pulled the throw pillow out from behind her, it was pretty cozy. 

Jess shifted away from him a bit, leaning against the opposite arm of the couch, and he recognized Emily marking her territory but he couldn't bring himself to care. Well, he did care about the fact that it made Jess move away. That sucked. But Emily cuddled up against him, not cowering on a table terrified of him... He would let her make her claim on him however she wanted. 

Her head rested on his chest, just below his shoulder, and she was like a little furnace against his side. Mike felt like he was still shivering. The TV came to life and there was a voice screaming.

“No!” the sobbing voice repeated, a camera shutter clicked rapidly, and there was a familiar squeaking cackle as the menu of SAW appeared on the screen. 

"Absolutely not." Ashley protested immediately, "Tonight has been weird enough without adding any horror movies to it." 

There was a bit more bickering about the movie and Mike honestly didn't care but he did mentally agree with Ashley’s comment. Emily had one hand resting between them, squished between their hips and she would probably complain soon about it falling asleep, but her other hand rested on Mike's thigh. Thumb sliding back and forth in a soothing motion. 

Despite her, more than occasional, bitchy-ness and her cutting tongue, Mike suddenly remembered why he had liked being with her so much. Yeah, she was hot. But, a lot like Jess, she was different behind her prickly exterior. Sweet and caring, thoughtful, when she needed to be. Crazy smart and really good at reading people. 

"Seriously?" Jessica complained from beside him and it took a moment for him to realize she wasn't talking to him. Looking up he was greeted with a cheerful melody and blue screen with a white castle. A glittering arch stretched over the castle to complete the Disney logo. 

"You can't actually have a problem with Disney movies can you?" Beth asked incredulously from across the room. 

"Are we five years old?" Jessica scoffed. 

"Your favorite movie is The Little Mermaid." Mike reminded her and Jessica stuck her lower lip  
out in a pout. He wanted to kiss her for a moment before remembering the weight of Emily against his chest. 

"It is not my favorite." Jessica protested. "Who told you that?" She looked at Emily. 

"I didn't say shit. Even though he’s right." Emily didn't even bother to lift her head but he felt her hand go still on his thigh. 

Of course if it was before they broke up, he never would have watched the Little Mermaid with Jess ten thousand times. Jess was still watching Emily and Emily was pretending like she couldn’t see it. Her hand crept another inch up his thigh and the slow back and forth swiping of her thumb resumed. Like she was swiping away messages on Tinder. Or how she would rub her thumb over the tip-

The loud opening line in Swahili distracted Jess and Emily from their stare down and the nostalgic 2D sunrise on screen seemed to quell any other complaints. Ashley was mumbling along with the words to the song behind them and Mike wouldn’t have been surprised if she actually knew how to pronounce the words right. 

"I'm going to make some popcorn." Jess said as she uncrossed her legs and got up. Mike started to move to follow but Emily's hand squeezed his thigh a little tighter than was comfortable. 

"Easy big guy. The microwave's right there, she doesn't need an escort." Emily's voice was bitter and harsh like black coffee. And sure enough, Jessica didn't have to go more than 10 feet away to find the snack bar. Because, of course the Washington's had a snack bar in their cinema room. They had a cinema room after all. Mike sat back heavily in his seat, curling his arm tighter around Emily and pulling her closer to his side. His cheeks felt itchy and dry and he used his free hand to scrub at them. Rubbing away the dried tear tracks. 

"Come on Michael, save it for when Mufasa gets trampled." Emily said, her voice less harsh than her words and her thumb resumed its stroking motion.

"Spoiler alert." Josh's slurred out from behind them. He made a funny sound and Beth hopped up out of her seat. She was immediately at Josh's side with a wastebasket that she snagged from the corner of the room on her way over. Josh emptied his stomach into it while Jess and Emily loudly complained. Their disgusted cries masking most of the unholy noises Josh was making. 

Mike rubbed Emily's back soothingly and watched the screen as baby Simba was lifted into the air and all of the animals cheered. She leaned into him, curling up on her spot so that her knees were resting on top of Mike's thigh. He was pretty sure that that leg was going to be asleep soon but it was worth it. Emily wasn't normally this affectionate so it must have been for his benefit, not hers. The microwave beeped and the smell of salt and butter filled the room as Jess pulled the bag out and shook it for a couple of seconds. 

The whole thing felt like some bizarre Twilight Zone episode. One minute he couldn't feel the lower half of his body and he was flicking his lighter, the whole world glowing hot and bright. And the next minute he was standing in the guest room, watching Hannah undo the top button of her shirt again. Just like the year before. Or… tonight. He wasn’t sure anymore. But Emily was tucked up against his side. All nine of his friends were here and safe. Alive. Like he had fixed it. Stopped it all from happening. An entire year.

Two months from now he wouldn’t get an invitation in the mail. He wouldn’t go to the memorials held for Hannah and Beth. They were safe. Hannah sitting in one of the plush theater seats. Just sitting there beside Sam. Eating a pack of M&Ms. Not… starving in the mines… or… Mike’s eyes drifted over to the back corner where Beth was rubbing Josh’s back and laughing at him in a somewhat sympathetic way. 

But he hadn’t done anything… he got everyone killed. He killed himself. And all those things… And then it was like he was just waking up. But he couldn’t have imagined it either. It was too detailed. It wasn’t just the night at the lodge. 

It was the whole year. Working at the coffee shop in the summer. Breaking up with Em. Getting together with Jess. Playing football with Matt, until he started dating Em and things got weird. Doing schoolwork. Taking tests. It all happened. He wasn’t creative enough to come up with all of the details. 

Why would he even have wanted to make it all up? If it wasn’t real, why would he stand there watching Hannah unbutton her shirt and then come up with some convoluted future where she was a monster set on killing them all… 

Was he losing it? Because it happened. It wasn’t something he imagined. It was all real. And now he was back. Before it happened. And he changed it. Hannah and Beth weren’t missing. It wouldn’t happen now. 

But even if it was some kind of parallel universe or something, why did he remember? He fixed it so shouldn’t he forget? Wasn’t that how these things worked? You fix the problem and you go back to normal.

“Michael?” Jessica sounded impatient. He looked up and saw Jess holding the bowl of popcorn out to him. “I asked you to hold this?”

“Right.” He took the bowl, “Sorry.” 

“Jeez. You are seriously acting weird tonight.” Jess shook her head and Emily said something back to her but Mike didn’t hear it. Hannah had turned around and was looking at him. Her eyes and nose were still all red from crying and Mike felt like roadkill. Emotionally, mentally, physically, and however else it was possible to feel like roadkill, that was how he felt. 

Hannah’s eyes darted down for a brief second, he could only see it because the screen lit up brightly for a couple moments, and then she was quickly turning away. Sinking lower in her seat like she was trying to hide from him. Glancing down Mike saw the bowl of popcorn sitting on one leg, Em’s hand resting on the other. 

Mike sighed and rubbed his free hand over his face again. His black eye was gone. So was the cut just below his hairline. No split lip. No scratches on his neck. His skin even felt cleaner, like it wasn’t layered in fifteen layers of muck and grime. There was a bit of stubble around his jaw, it was probably barely visible but he could feel it. 

“You going to keep that popcorn all to yourself, Bub?” Jess sat herself down right beside Mike and raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Help yourself.” Mike nodded his head towards the bowl and Josh drunkenly shushed them from behind. 

“Don’t be jealous Joshua. We’re good at sharing.” Jess winked over her shoulder and Mike heard Josh laugh a bit before groaning when Jess tossed a few pieces of popcorn back at him. Her aim was still just as deadly as it was when she hit that bird with the snowball. Mike turned around and felt Emily shove at his arm. 

“Sit on the floor if you’re going to keep squirming.” Emily said.

“What?” Mike turned back to look at her just in time to see Emily roll her eyes. 

“You keep moving around.” Emily said and nudged him again. 

“Fine, fine.” Mike said, “I can tell when I’m not wanted.” he passed the bowl of popcorn to Jess before starting to scoot down and sit on the floor. 

“Just don’t move and it won’t be a problem.” Emily couldn’t have known but the words still sent a shot of adrenaline through his veins and he froze. Jess bounced her way closer across the couch, almost pressed right up against Mike’s side so they could all reach the bowl, and he had to force himself not to react. Fighting back the immediate urge to tell her to stop moving. There was nothing. Nothing to be afraid of. Nothing to hide from. Mike focused his attention on the movie, occasionally watching Emily’s arm stretch over him to grab some popcorn. 

The movie continued playing and Mike could see Matt nodding off on the other end of the room. Ashley had stopped mumble-singing at some point after Simba grew up on screen in a convenient montage and he hated that he was a little grateful for it. He should be happy to hear from his friends. But Ashley was always more of Chris’s friend. He really only ever saw her if he was seeing Chris and Josh too. But judging by the silence behind him, all three seemed to be asleep. In the front of the room Beth had curled up against Sam and Sam’s head was resting on top of Beth’s. Hannah was still slumped low in her seat and Mike looked down to Emily and Jess. 

They both had fallen asleep against him. Emily curled up between him and the arm of the couch, her head resting on his lap. Jess on his other side, her head dipping lower and lower until it was nestled against his chest. Both of them sleeping soundly. Mike ducked his head, lips pressing against the crown of Jessica's head.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." he held her close with one arm. The other hand stroked through Emily's hair, stroking his fingertips lightly alongside her temple. 

"I couldn't protect you..." he whispered the words against Jessica's head but he meant it for everyone. Everyone who he couldn't save. Who he put in danger. Because he was too slow. Made the wrong choices. Left them behind...

Not this time. They wouldn’t be in that situation again. In the morning they would pack up their bags and head down the mountain. There wouldn’t be any rangers coming up to look for the missing twins because they were right there. They wouldn’t have to tell Josh that his sisters were gone. That had been one of the worst parts. Even facing the wendigoes in the sanatorium wasn’t as bad as facing Josh that morning. 

How Josh kept trying to wave them off, bleary and hungover, trying to make himself a pot of coffee while they tried to get him understand. He kept complaining that they were being too loud. It took Sam grabbing him by the shoulders and telling him to his face that Hannah and Beth were missing. 

It was like Mike could see all of the blood drain out of Josh’s face. The light fade from behind his eyes. Josh sobered up faster than he ever did normally. He was so confused, Ashley was crying as her and Sam tried to explain what happened. Emily was angry, snapping at Ashley for crying so much, but she had been clinging to Mike’s arm. She had been scared too. 

Josh was fumbling over his words, shaking his head and so deep in denial, then he got angry. Screaming at them all and running around the lodge looking for his sisters. Ashley had sat on the floor and cried, Chris wavering between comforting her and checking on Josh. They were all just so quiet. Listening to Josh tearing the house apart upstairs. He kept yelling their names over and over. Calling for Hannah and Beth. Then he’d gone quiet for a while. Sam and Chris had gone up to check on him and they stayed there until a ranger came by to ask them questions. Josh had been so quiet when they left. Not talking to anyone. It was like he had just shut down. 

They hardly talked at all after that. Mike had a hard time looking at Josh, it just reminded him of his sisters. The prank. Everything horrible that had happened. Maybe if Mike had kept in touch with him then he would have noticed something about Josh’s revenge plan. Talked him out of going back up to the mountain. But it didn’t matter now. 

Mike couldn’t fall asleep. He didn’t even bother trying. The movie ended, the menu screen looped a few times, and then restarted. Everyone else in the room slept soundly, there was the soft uneven snores from Josh behind him, Beth’s occasional mumbling from in front, and the occasional shift when someone adjusted their sleeping position. 

The screen of Mike's phone was almost blindingly bright when he carefully extracted it from his pocket. Still no service, of course. And the battery was pretty low. Only a few hours until dawn. Then they would go down the mountain. Get the hell out. It would be over. All over. He could do this. He was Michael Munroe. Class president. The best damn barista that tiny coffee shop had ever seen. Wendigo killer. He could handle a couple hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I doubt anyone cares but I did mess with the furniture in the cinema room because I wanted there to be a couch and the game didn't cooperate. I spent an embarrassingly long amount of time trying to make it work without changing it but I wanted them to cuddle so...
> 
> I have the next chapter mostly written too and comments and kudos definitely will help me post sooner so thank you to everyone who has done so already!


	5. February 2nd, 2014 - 7 AM

“Mike?” Sam’s voice jolted Mike awake. He didn’t know when he had dozed off, or for how long, but he was cold. There was no Emily on his lap and no Jess against his side. His eyes snapped open as a neatly manicured hand waved in front of his face. “Breakfast. Come eat.” 

“Breakfast?” Mike’s slurred out, his breath tasted horrible and the pounding in his head hadn’t left him yet. 

“Yeah. Y’know, that thing that normal people eat in the morning.” She kicked lightly at Mike’s still shoe-clad feet. The idea of eating made his stomach turn a bit but at the same time it growled loud enough for Sam to laugh at him. 

“Come on, Beth and Matt are making pancakes.” Sam said, “Everyone else is already up.” 

Then she was walking out of the room. Mike took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Everyone was still there. They would eat, get their shit together, and get off the mountain by eight o'clock. Everything would be fine. 

Mike pulled himself up and walked through the large double doors and through the maze of the Washington household. There were reminders of the night everywhere. He could see the elongated dirty hands of the monsters still reaching for him. Crawling on the walls and ceiling, hanging from the chandelier, scratching and clawing, snapping in his face. The thick cloud of rotting flesh that hung around them. 

No. Not that. No rotting flesh, no crumbled plaster, no blood. Just the faint notes of maple syrup and warm bacon. He didn’t hear any screeching or crackling fires either.

But he could hear laughter. Beth’s laughter to be specific. Followed closely by Sam’s own barely muffled snort. 

His feet took him to the kitchen and everyone was there. Chris slumped next to the coffee maker, a mug tucked right up under his nose, the heat from it fogging up the lenses of his glasses. Ashley wasn’t standing with him but Mike could see that her eyes were on Chris and no one else. Sam was resting her chin on Beth’s shoulder as the Washington girl expertly flipped the pancake in the pan and cheered. Matt had a piece of bacon sticking out of his mouth and he was making faces at Emily and Jess who were pretending not to notice. 

“Hey-hey the president is awake!” Josh crowed out happily and a heavy arm landed on Mike’s shoulders. Josh smelled minty like he had just brushed his teeth and if the taste in Mike’s own mouth was any indication, he figured he should do the same. 

“Hey Josh.” Mike didn’t know if it should feel casual or not… but apparently Josh hadn’t heard about the prank since he seemed to be in good spirits. 

That, and wasn’t trying to beat Mike into the ground. 

“Oh good, you’re up.” Emily said, but she didn’t leave her spot at the counter, “Mike, could you do me a huge favor?” her voice was artificially sweet and her smile was too calculated to be genuine but he turned his attention to her anyway. 

“Yes Dear?” Josh snickered at his side as Mike answered her.

“Could you cut us up some fruit. We need something that’s not completely junk.” Emily asked. 

“It’s pancakes, eggs, and bacon, how is that junk? It’s breakfast.” Matt asked from the stove. 

“Please?” Emily batted her lashes and Mike found himself nodding immediately. 

“Sure.” There was a big glass bowl on one of the counters that was filled with oranges, apples, something that might have been a mango, and a bunch of bananas hanging on a hook nearby. Beth passed him a cutting board from beside the stove and Mike sat it down in front of himself. 

Mike grabbed a couple pieces of fruit, and put them on the board. The little wooden knife holder was within reach and Mike pulled out the first one that looked big enough to cut the orange in half. The handle was smooth and sleek, the metal clean and glossy, he wouldn’t have been surprised if they were of professional quality. Or at the very least, forged by some master blacksmith who lived in the woods or something fancy and expensive like that. 

But even though it was nothing like his machete, he could feel his palms sweating. Pushing those thoughts deep down before they could reach the surface, Mike dragged an orange into the center of the cutting board and chopped it in half in one clean cut. Unlike his fingers.

He wished that the thought didn’t pop up so easily but it did. The pain of the trap slicing through his skin and holding him there. Hearing the snarls of something coming for him. How badly he needed to get out of there. Every fox who had ever chewed his own leg off deserved to live a peaceful life in the lap of luxury, according to Mike, because it fucking hurt. There was probably some petition out there to ban traps like that. It wasn’t humane. But cutting his own fingers off was still better than staying there. Trapped. Being hunted. 

“Mike?” Sam’s voice was low and a lot closer to him than he remembered her being. “You okay?” 

“Yeah.” He took a deep breath, the air smelled like the orange. Citrus-y and sweet. He could do this. He was fine. A couple more chops and then he was moving onto the next piece of fruit. It was methodical and by the time that he had a sizable pile of fruit on the edge of the cutting board his heart had stopped pounding so hard and it felt like he could breathe again. 

Hannah was sitting at the table when he brought the fruit over to Emily and Jess, Sam snagging a slice of apple off of the board as he passed her. He hadn’t heard her come in but she looked away as soon as he looked at her. 

“Why the big breakfast?” Mike turned away from Hannah and to Beth and Matt. “We’re leaving in like an hour right?” 

“Actually… we’re not.” Chris said and Mike heard the crack of his neck popping when he turned to look at the blond. 

“What do you mean?” Mike asked. They were leaving. They were supposed to leave today. The weekend was over. They were going home. 

“Snowstorm man.” Chris jabbed his thumb towards the window and Mike reached it in a few steps, looking through the blinds. “Extreme weather warnings and shit.” Everything outside was white. The morning sun making the snow sparkle and shine like diamonds. It was pretty but there was so much of it. A thick blanket had covered the ground and it had to be several inches deep. There was no way that they could get through the snow to the cable car easily. 

“We’re all gonna be here for another night at least.” Ashley said and Mike felt his heart stop. 

This didn’t happen last time. Last time it had barely been a fresh dusting of snow on the ground. But now they were trapped. And this time they didn't have a leg they could chew off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this was a short chapter and I'm sorry but I will have chapter 6 up soon too since I broke this chapter up into two parts, they are both a little filler-y but the next chapter should be fun anyway!
> 
> And seriously, thank you all for the comments, they absolutely make my day!


	6. February 2nd, 2014 - 6 PM

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everyone!  
> Thank you to everyone who commented on the last chapter, you all are amazing and I appreciate you all so much! 
> 
> Sadly, the next chapter might take a bit before I post because we are finally caught up to what I have written and I have a few other things I am working on but I am hoping to work on this one soon.
> 
> And there are some minor dubcon and eating disorder warnings for this chapter, it's nothing explicit but in case it is something that anyone feels they would rather not read or would like to be prepared for then I will summarize the warnings in the end notes so you can decide.

Mike didn’t know when everyone had started drinking again but he was glad for it. It wasn’t even that late but it was pretty dark outside from all of the snow and the inside of the house was cozy with the fire going. The beers he had had earlier were keeping him relaxed and his mind perfectly numbed. It felt normal. Better than he had felt in a while. No one had tried to leave. There was no unusual noises outside. It was normal.

He fucking loved normal.

The wood of the table was cool under his face and he could hear someone sit down heavily beside him but he kept his eyes closed. He was tired. However much sleep he had gotten wasn’t enough and the alcohol wasn’t helping his exhaustion. 

“Earth to Michael!" Jess's voice was gurgled and unclear. He didn't want to look. Every time he looked he would see it. The way her tongue stuck out of her gaping jaw. The lower jaw broken completely off. Her eyes blank and dull. Her skin dirty and pale. 

"Michael?" There were fingers prodding at the side of his head and his fingers curled tighter around the neck of his bottle. 

"Is he passed out already?" Chris's confused voice called from across the room. 

"We better catch up, eh Cochise?" Josh snickered.

“I think you’ve had enough.” Chris laughed, as if he wasn’t equally as drunk as his best friend. 

“Don’t be silly.” Josh slurred out and then he gasped audibly enough for Mike to lift his head and look over. Josh was smiling widely, eyes bright with excitement as he turned toward where some of the girls were coming into the living room. 

"Hey, hey guys, you know what- you know what we should do?" Josh snickered as he tossed an arm around Sam's shoulders. 

"And what is that, Joshua?" Sam patted his forearm indulgently as Josh leaned heavily on her. He rested his head against hers and smiled widely. 

"Well my dear Sammy, we should-we should play seven minutes in heaven." Josh said and the happiness in his voice was practically palpable.

"Josh, I'm pretty sure that games like that are meant for people that don't actually know each other that well." Sam was unimpressed despite Josh's excitement, "‘This’ would just be awkward. Not to mention, two out of the nine of us are related to you."

"Trust me, I would be... more than happy if my sisters sat this game out." Josh said and pointed his finger vaguely in the direction of the twins, his arm almost hitting Sam in the face, "No… no kissing for you."

"Oh shut up Josh." Beth laughed, "We can kiss whoever we want to." She said while Hannah blushed, her eyes darting briefly to Mike. He would have thought her crush on him would be long dead but apparently not…

"But it would be a good bonding experience. Something to bring us all closer together." Josh was smiling a bit, all his muscles loose and an almost empty bottle hanging from his hand. This hadn't happened last time. 

Last time they had just sat there, waiting for Hannah and Beth to come back. To laugh at them for being so freaked out. And then they sat there and waited for Josh to wake up. Park rangers were already called and were getting ready to search the area. There hadn’t been a snowstorm last time. 

"Come on guys and gals, everyone to the circle of shame!" Josh whooped and abandoned Sam as he tossed an arm around Chris's shoulder. He leaned in close to whisper something into Chris's ear and Mike watched as color bloomed up on Chris's neck and he squirmed out of Josh's hold. Josh flopped himself down on the floor, all loose gangly limbs and laughs, as he tugged on Chris's pant leg until the other boy sat beside him. 

"Come on Em." Jess giggled as she took Emily's hand and tugged her over to the circle. Emily pulled Mike along and Josh let out an excited cheer as everyone wandered over and sat down. Emily was on one side of Mike, Jess on her other side, and Matt was on his right hand side. Beside Matt was Chris and judging from the way that Josh kept nudging Chris and whispering, less subtly than he probably intended, the fact that Ashley was sitting directly across from him wasn’t an accident. 

As the last few minutes of shuffling came to an end, Josh polished off the last of his bottle and sat it in the middle of the circle with no less than three dramatic movements. 

“Okay! So everyone-,” Josh paused for a second to catch his bearings and Beth put a steadying hand on his shoulder for support. “Everyone knows the rules, right? For fairness, I’ll spin first-.” 

“What is fair about that?” Jessica asked, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Let me finish!” Josh snickered to himself in amusement, “I’ll spin first and that will decide who is going to start the game. It points at you then you spin to pick your partner.” 

“And for the rest of us?” Sam asked, dragging out the first word. 

“In those seven heavenly minutes, the lucky couple will enter the lovely hall closet, do whatever they please to each other, and the rest of us can play spin the bottle mixed with truth or dare and do more shots in the meantime!” Josh declared. 

“I don’t think you need any more Buddy.” Chris chuckled, “How are you not still hungover Bro?” 

"Hair of the dog that… that bit you." Josh slurred out with a lazy catlike grin. "Now let's play!" He declared and sent the bottle off in a rapid wobbly spin. Josh filled the silence with sound effects and Mike could practically feel Emily's eyes rolling in her head. The bottle slowed to a stop on Emily beside him and she huffed a bit.

"Emily, Em, Em, Emily, you're up!" Josh said happily and she moved a few inches into the circle to reach the bottle. "Don't get too jealous Michael." Josh teased as she spun the bottle around. He probably should be jealous. Emily was supposed to be his girlfriend. 

This time everyone was a bit more animated, cheering along as the bottle spun around and around. It slowed to a stop and Matt let out a short wolf whistle as the neck of the bottle pointed to Jess. Emily rolled her eyes again as they both stood up. 

"Just remember that when yours lands on Michael big guy." She pointed a threatening finger in Matt's direction. 'Oh my God we're so totally gonna make out!' Mike's own teasing accent tugged at the back of his mind.

He took another long drink from his nearly empty bottle as Emily and Jess closed the door of the closet behind them. Any other time and he would be all for the game. Especially when it involved two girls he had literally dreamed about in this type of situation. He was still kind of into it. But it would have been better if they were anywhere else in the world. 

“Truth or dare Munroe?” Beth said, snapping Mike’s attention away from the closet. 

“And remember, if you don’t wanna answer, or we think you’re lying, that’s a shot!” Josh declared, pointing out the bottle on the table, Mike didn’t know how he had missed so much. But there were shot glasses neatly lined up on the edge of the table and one had already been drank. 

“Right…” Mike nodded, “Uh, dare.” He could do this. 

“Fine, I dare you to tell us what the fuck you were thinking last night.” Beth’s voice was short and for being so sweet, she could be terrifying. 

“What?” Mike’s tongue felt heavy. 

"I'm pretty sure that's cheating." Matt pointed out but Beth didn't move her eyes off of Mike.

“First with the prank. Then with the whole prison lockdown. What the hell was it?” Beth asked. This was his chance. He could tell them. 

Everyone was staring at him anyway. Josh and Chris looked confused but everyone else seemed like they were waiting for his answer. He could tell them everything. How the twins disappeared. What Josh did. About the stranger guy with the flamethrower and the wolves. About the wendigoes. About why they needed to leave as soon as they could. About how sorry he was…

“There is something…” They would think he was crazy. He wouldn’t believe the story if he was them. “There’s something out there.” 

They were still staring at him. Josh looked more confused than before and it reminded Mike painfully of how he had looked after he had slapped him in the mines. 

“Forget it.” Mike shook his head. 

“Boo!” Josh crowed and pointed vaguely in the direction of the shot glasses. Whatever it was, it went down smooth as Mike tipped it back. Beth looked annoyed, her arms crossed over her chest unhappily. Hannah wasn’t looking at anyone in particular as she fidgeted in place. He scooted his way back into the circle and there was a beeping coming from Chris’s phone as the seven minute timer, one that Mike hadn’t realized was going, ended.

“Seven minutes are up, someone go get the lovebirds.” Chris said and Matt hopped up to go and open the closet door.

Emily and Jess sat back down in the circle without a word and Josh grinned at them in a way that made Michael feel kind of like punching him. 

“Whose turn is it? Because I swear if this was all some big plot to get the girls to make out and then you guys wimp out, I will kill you all.” Emily said shortly. 

“Mike’s turn.” Hannah said. It was the first time that he had heard her speak that day. Her voice was still small and when he looked over to her, she immediately looked away. 

Mike let out a long breath. He wasn’t going to tell them what happened. It wouldn’t help them to know. Right?

The glass of the bottle was a little warm to the touch and he watched the wobbly arc of its spin. Going around and around and around until it started slowing down. Passing Mike. Passing Matt. Passing Chris and Josh. It creeped towards Sam and he started to stand up as it slowed to a stop. But not in front of Sam. 

It stopped in front of Hannah. 

Her face was red and her head was ducked low, hiding behind her hair as she stood up. Mike’s feet felt like cinder blocks as they walked to the closet. She went in first and he closed the door behind them. She flipped a switch and a low flickering light barely illuminated the room. They shuffled around a bit and she still wasn’t looking at him. 

"Hannah... I'm really sorry about yesterday. It-it was stupid, so stupid. I never wanted to hurt you." Mike wished he had a better chance to apologize. Crammed into a, well it was still pretty big, closet with Hannah, wasn't exactly the place he'd had in mind for this conversation. She wouldn't even look at him. 

"I guess it was stupid of me to think that you would actually ever like me..." Hannah's voice hitched a little and her eyes were already watery behind her glasses. She turned away from him, reaching for the doorknob, moving like she was ready to take off running again. 

"Hannah!" He caught her hand and turned her to him, one arm wrapping around her waist as she was pulled into his chest. She was so tiny, fit from tennis but so skinny, tall enough that it made her seem even ganglier. It probably wasn’t healthy. He could feel almost every bone in her body. Not that different from how he remembered the wendigoes. But they had been hard, like steel, Hannah's felt like they would snap if he squeezed too hard. 

"M-Mike?" She tilted her head up to meet his eyes and he watched as her eyes drifted down to his lips. He didn't know how to convey to her that this wasn't part of the prank. That he wasn't laughing at her. That she didn't need to run away. 

So he kissed her.

Her lips were cold and slightly chapped under his but she was warm against his body. One of her long arms came up to touch his cheek and then slid through his hair. A brief flash of the wendigo's clawed hand grabbing his head and throwing him across the room passed through his mind. Mike kissed her harder to push the thought away. That wasn't happening. Hannah's nails were short, barely scratching against his scalp where she held onto his hair. 

She was so responsive, gasping softly into the kiss and arching her body closer. Like she was desperate to stay in this moment forever. She took a step backwards and then another. Mike followed, he couldn't let her leave. But she simply pressed her back against the door, moaning his name softly against his lips as she took the hand that he had been holding and used it to guide his hand under her sweater. 

"Hannah..." He couldn't do that. There was Jess-Emily now, Emily was his girlfriend. Flirting was one thing, kissing during a kissing game was one thing, but he couldn't do that. 

"Please?" Hannah's voice was so soft and almost scared, like she was already prepared for rejection. When he was silent for too long the tears started to build again and she was twisting under him, dropping his hand to reach for the doorknob. 

Mike kissed her again, it was sloppy this time, now he was the desperate one. She gasped into it and stroked her tongue along his, sucking lightly on it and she started to sink lower an inch before he caught her hip, the bones there were sharp. He couldn't let her do that. He shouldn't even be doing this. But he splayed his hand wide over her bare stomach. She was so thin... But her skin was warm and inviting. Her hand covered his and guided it up to the fabric of her bra. It was lacy, the texture snagging a bit against the roughness of his fingers, and there was some light padding that made her chest puff over the top ever so slightly. 

He was sure that it wasn't the white and flower patterned one that Jess had worn but he wouldn't have been surprised if Hannah had also matched her underwear to the lacy bra she had on. Emily had never bothered with matching them unless it was a special occasion. But Emily liked lacy things too, bright colors or blacks, stuff so sheer that he had to be careful not to rip them when he took it off of her.

But it wasn't Emily or Jessica pressing into his touch and Michael wished that things were different. 

Hannah's hand that wasn't guiding his, started to dip lower. Sliding down from his hair, her blunt nails dragging across the skin of his neck made him shiver and she seemed to be encouraged by that. Stroking down his chest and petting over his abs, resting for a moment on the raised hem of his jeans. She broke the kiss, both of them panting.

"Mike I-" she was looking at him with wide anxious eyes and her hand moved lower, pressing against the front of his jeans.

"I lo-" he couldn't let her say it. He couldn't hear it. He kissed her again and swallowed the confession. Her hands were insistent, as if since she couldn't say it then she had to prove it. Encouraging his hand to squeeze and grope at her breasts while her other hand rubbed him through his pants. 

There was a knock at the door behind Hannah's head and they both jumped. Hannah pulled her hands away from him quickly, suddenly bashful as she straightened out her sweater and touched her kiss bruised lips. 

"Hands where I can see them Munroe or you're gonna catch a mouthful of hand!" Josh called from the other side of the door and the doorknob creaked slowly as it twisted. Mike's heart was pounding like a war drum and he swallowed down the nausea that swam through his stomach. 

"What is that even supposed to mean?" Emily asked as Josh swung the door open. She was standing right beside Josh, arms crossed over her chest, already looking more irritated than she had all weekend. 

"It means, you know, like a punch. To the mouth." Josh fumbled over his words a bit as he was fixed with Emily's unimpressed glare. 

"Your funeral if you think you could take Michael in a fight." Jess teased from the circle that almost everyone had abandoned. Everyone was watching them and Mike could see the bright pink flush that lit up Hannah's cheeks from the corner of his eye. 

"Bah, Mike's all talk. I'm sure he's just a big softy under those muscles. I'd get my revenge somehow." Josh scoffed, his voice was playful but Mike saw the way that Josh's eyes caught on Hannah trying to subtly readjust one of her bra straps. Josh's face hardened a bit and Michael wouldn't deny that he was hiding behind Emily for protection. But to make it seem less wimpy he wrapped his arms around Em's waist and pulled her back against his chest. She put her arms over his immediately, holding him there as she relaxed against him slightly. Josh smiled widely as he turned away from them and threw his hands up into the air. 

"Time for the next victims! Cochise get the bottle!" Josh called out jovially as he made his way back to the circle. Hannah was at Sam's side holding onto one of her arms, practically glowing with happiness. Mike felt his stomach sour at her happiness, she was talking to Sam in a hushed voice and Sam was nodding along, her lips pressed together like she didn't approve but didn't want to ruin her friend's excitement. 

Mike didn't want to rejoin the circle. But he’d been doing a lot of things he didn’t want to do lately. He hadn’t been acting like himself lately and he knew it. He should be pumped. Friends, alcohol, no adults anywhere to be seen, his girlfriend by his side, he should be happy. Why couldn’t he just be happy? Fuck. 

“Join the party Munroe.” Matt said, waving an arm. Mike sighed a bit and took a deep breath. He could be happy. It wasn’t that hard, right? He slapped a smile on and walked over to the circle. He just made out with someone who basically worshiped the ground he walked on. He was great, and awesome, and hot, and he could be happy if he wanted to.

Just another normal day. No monsters and no pain. Just friends and a peaceful mountain. 

“What the hell was that?” Beth’s voice asked, she sounded farther away than she should have and Mike felt his heart skip a beat as a cold rush of wind passed through the room. His blood froze in his veins. Beth’s hands rested on the windowsill as she leaned out, the air making her cheeks flush. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she turned to face the group again. 

Mike had the horrible image of a dirty clawed hand stretching through that open window and grabbing Beth by her beanie clad head. Nails digging into her scalp and forcing her body to contort as it was twisted and pulled through the open window. 

But that wasn’t happening. He had to blink hard a couple of times before the image went away and Beth was still standing there. 

“Guys I think there’s someone out there.” Beth said, a deep frown set on her face. 

Then there was a howl that seemed to echo through the entire house and Mike couldn’t tell if it made him feel better or worse to know that his friend was nearby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor dubcon: During seven minutes in heaven Mike is uncomfortable with the situation and does feel pressured to do what Hannah wants him to but he does not express those feelings to her, there is kissing and groping involved but no sex  
> Minor eating disorder: Several references to Hannah's weight and frame being similar to her wendigo form


	7. February 3rd, 2014 - 1 AM

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh jeez this chapter is late. almost 3 full months late I think? So, I am very sorry for that! But it is finally finished (as of 4am, and I haven't done any editing, so I'm sorry for any mistakes) and here you go! Thank you to anyone who stuck around this long!

“Get away from the window.” Mike was crossing the room and taking hold of Beth’s arm in a tight grip before anyone else moved an inch. 

“Can you stop doing that?” Beth tugged her arm away from him with a sharp glare and Mike held his hands up in surrender while she huffed and smoothed out the sleeve of her sweater. 

Mike turned away, he could feel the eyes of everyone else watching them and it didn’t help the uneasy feeling in his gut, the window was still open. Curtains fluttering like wings in the snow speckled wind. Mike pulled the window closed with a dull thud, securing the latch with fumbling fingers. The room instantly felt a few degrees warmer but Mike could feel the wetness of snow melting on the sleeves of his flannel. The cold of it. Everything was cold on the mountain. 

“Wait, seriously, look.” Beth was at his side again, her bony shoulder bumping into his arm as she pressed a fingertip to the glass pane. “There is someone there.” She insisted and Mike’s eyes followed the direction she was pointing. 

Several bodies joined theirs by the windows as Mike spotted what Beth was pointing at. Barely visible through the thick flurry of snow, but it was definitely a person. Not all stretched out or pale enough to blend into the snow, it was a person. 

“What the fuck?” Josh sounded off from Beth’s other side Mike could see her turn her head to face him.

“Dad said it would just be us this weekend, right?” She asked.

“Maybe-maybe it’s one of the rangers?” Josh suggested, though it didn’t sound much like he believed it himself, doubt dripping off of every word. He pressed his face a little closer to the glass and squinting a bit as if it would make any difference. 

“It doesn’t look like he’s coming towards the lodge.” Beth said, “Maybe we should go and check it out? I don’t like the idea of some guy creeping around out there.” 

“Are you crazy?” Emily scoffed, a few feet behind them, and Beth turned around to face her. 

“What?” 

“Oh look a strange figure, let’s go wander out in a freakin’ snowstorm so he can murder us all!” Emily mocked, “How about we pretend that we aren’t complete morons?” 

“So we should just wait until he lets himself in and slaughters us all in our sleep? One by one? Who would be first do you think, maybe Jess?” Josh asked, his voice somehow both teasing and hollow. It made Mike a little uneasy. It was how Josh sounded when he was explaining the whole fucked up prank. When Chris and Ashley were tied up. 

“Excuse me?” Jess crossed her arms unhappily. 

“What? It’s a compliment.” Josh smirked a bit. “The slutty blonde always dies first.”

“Josh!” Beth hit his shoulder and Mike could see the slap coming before Emily even finished raising her hand but then Josh was cradling his cheek with a pitiful sound. 

“You better watch your mouth Washington.” Emily said firmly. 

“Okay, let’s all just take a breather.” Chris said, holding his hands up. Josh retreated back to his side with casual wobbly footsteps. 

“I’m going to get dad’s shotgun.” Beth said as she pushed herself off of the windowsill after looking out again. 

“What?” Sam frowned, “Why would we need a gun?”

“In case that creeper comes to the house.” Beth said, already walking across the room. 

“You’re what? Going to shoot him?” Emily asked doubtfully. 

"It's self-defense if he is trespassing.” Beth said shortly, glancing over as Sam moved quickly to her side. 

“Bee, come on.” Sam was shaking her head, “I’m sure it won’t be that serious. Besides, what if it’s just some poor guy who is lost. Are we just going to let him freeze to death?” 

Beth frowned in response. No longer walking towards, wherever the Washington’s kept their firearms, but she also didn’t seem like she was giving the thought up yet. 

“Always be prepared. If he is just some lost stranger, up on our property. Up a ski lift. In the middle of a snowstorm. Then maybe we will give him the benefit of the doubt. But think about it.” Beth seemed more serious than Mike remembered. Not that he actually knew her well… before all of that had happened. But it had always seemed like she was more easygoing and mature than her siblings. Josh was a mess. It had always seemed that way, but now Mike knew it for sure. And Hannah… well, she had her own issues. 

But Beth always seemed in control. Like she knew what was going to be the outcome of every situation and she would try her absolute hardest to make sure that it came out the way that she wanted it to. Whether that was chasing her sister out into a snowstorm, or tracking down some stranger who may or may not be a threat. Beth was going to control her own destiny. Or at least, she would try to. 

Mike couldn’t help but wonder if that was what he should be doing. If he should be the one hunting down the weapons and arming everyone. Protecting them and telling them what they could be up against. Doing anything to keep it from happening again. Saving them. Going out there and killing the fucking Mak-whatever the actual word was. The one that the stranger had never caught. The one that probably possessed Hannah. That killed everyone. 

There was no avoiding the awful spiral of thoughts. He couldn’t avoid it. Whether it was looking at Hannah’s skinny arms and remembering the way that her emaciated, skeletal, monstrous form had torn all of their friends apart. Or just thinking about how Emily and Jess were standing side by side. Jess clinging to the sleeve of Em’s jacket with one tiny hand, Emily’s hand covering hers reassuringly. It seemed like it all just lead back to the fucked up situation he remembered. Everyone strung up on meat hooks. Just waiting to have their flesh stripped from their bodies to satiate the monsters hunger. To hang there rotting until some kind of rescue team came up there. Finding the charred remains of the lodge. Maybe finding the bodies underground. Maybe not. The spirits of the wendigoes flying around, searching for new hosts. 

The man had told them not to kill the monsters. 

Mike could remember at least four that they killed. That they were going to kill? They hadn’t killed them yet, he reminded himself. 

“Michael, you and Matt are with me.” Beth said shortly. She didn’t really look pleased by it but her voice didn’t leave much room for argument. She had a shotgun slung over her shoulder. A pistol in each hand. Mike had no idea when she had got them. Or where they had come from. It was starting to scare him a little, as much as he hated to admit that, how often those memories were making him lose actual time now. How he kept getting so focused on what he remembered that he didn't even realize what was going on around him. It could go bad. So bad. If there was an actual threat and he checked out like that...

“Whoa, wait, what?” Matt held his hands up, forcing distance between him and Beth, even though none of the guns were pointed anywhere near him. 

“If this goes south I need someone strong. Can you shoot or not?” Beth asked.

“No?!” Matt’s voice raised a bit in desperation. 

“I’ll go with you.” Josh stepped over to her and Beth shook her head. Not handing him anything even as he reached for one of the weapons. 

“You are still drunk. I’ve got this.” Beth said, shaking her head so much that her beanie was starting to slip off of her head. “Hannah, you’re in.” 

Mike felt like he couldn’t breathe. Beth was a fucking badass. He never really knew how much before. But she was pushing a gun into his hands, the familiar weight both comforting and terrifying. 

“Jesus Munroe. Trigger discipline.” She said sharply. Uncurling his finger from the trigger and laying it across the side instead. She was right. He hadn’t paid much attention to that last time. He had to shoot everything anyway. There wasn’t much of a point to keeping his finger off of the trigger. Though anyone with more training would probably disagree. Like Beth was. Frustration making her brows knit together. 

“Everyone else, stay here. Don’t do anything stupid.” Beth turned to the rest of the group. “And stay safe.”

She probably hoped that no one noticed how her eyes lingered on Sam for a second longer than everyone except for her brother. Josh got an extra-long look. Mike probably wouldn't have noticed the looks before. But the look Beth was giving Sam, was being returned tenfold. And Mike felt like he knew that look on Sam's face well enough. As for Josh... it made sense why Beth would be worried about him.

“We should be telling you that.” Sam said, unease thick in her voice. “Maybe I should come with you.” 

“I need you here. Take care of Josh for me.” Beth smiled a bit as she said it. It would have felt like a real joke a year ago. Tiny little Sammy taking care of the ridiculous loudmouth Josh. But at least Mike knew she could do it. She could take better care of him than Mike did. She never would have let him get caught like Mike had. 

“This is crazy.” Ashley’s voice took on the same distressed whining tone that it had the night before. Like she was on the verge of bursting into tears or throwing herself on the floor to scream for a few hours. 

“Come on, let’s go.” Beth mumbled, knocking her shoulder lightly against her sister’s. Hannah nodded, pushing her glasses up slightly, and the twins made their way through the house with confidence and all Mike could do was follow their lead. 

A bang at the door made both of the girls jump slightly and Mike felt his heart thumping against his ribs so hard that it hurt. Pushing the anxiety down, Mike picked up the pace. This was familiar. The near constant anxiety that thrummed through his veins that night. How it seemed like it might eventually settle down. Like things couldn’t get any scarier. Or weirder. But that was a dangerous way to think. It always got weirder. 

The girls had paused when the sound came from the door and Mike was walking past them now. The dark shadow on the other side of the door was familiar. Not all tall and bony or hopping all over the place like a frog on drugs. A tall, not monstrously tall, broad figure. 

“Who the fuck is that?” Mike heard Beth whisper from behind him. 

“Don’t shoot him okay.” Mike said over his shoulder as he took a deep breath and turned the lock on the door. 

“Mike?” Hannah sounded confused and scared as the door swung open forcefully. Mike backpedaled a few steps to keep from being bowled over as the strange man with the flamethrower strapped to his back made his way into the lodge. Mike could feel the warmth of one of Hannah’s hands against his back. Beth was closer to his side than behind him like Hannah was but he could see the steely set of her face from the corner of his eye. 

The man turned his back on them, closing the door and cutting out the breeze. He turned his scarred face on them and Mike heard Hannah gasp behind him, her hand tightening in the flannel of his shirt. 

“Okay. Everybody just calm down.” The man’s voice was just as gravelly and stern as it had been last time. No-nonsense and probably saying exactly the same thing that he had said to Chris and Mike last time. 

“Who are you?” Beth asked, impressing Mike with how little her voice wavered. Chris and Mike had almost stammered the entire time that the stranger was staring them down. 

“Now, I don’t care if you believe me or not. But what I say just might keep you all alive until dawn.” The man growled out and Mike felt a surge of relief. This hadn’t happened last year. But maybe it would fix things now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't promise when the next chapter will be, I am pretty bad about keeping up a regular writing schedule and life has been a bit of a mess (I earned by first degree in English this month and now I am in limbo) But I have not abandoned this story and there definitely will be more so I hope you stick around!   
> And thank you for every single comment on this fic! I am seriously overwhelmed by how sweet you all are and how in depth some of these comments have been, so thank you all so much.


	8. February 3rd, 2014 - 2 AM

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I am super sorry, that was a ridiculously long hiatus! But I am back and this story is not abandoned! Thank you to anyone who stuck around and especially to those who commented! I usually end up putting off replying to comments until I am ready to upload the next chapter for some reason, but I really appreciate every single comment, they absolutely make my day and you are all wonderful people! 
> 
>  
> 
> Possible trigger warning for vomiting toward the end of the chapter, just in case

It went about as well as Mike could have expected. Not that he knew what to expect, but he wasn’t surprised by his friend’s reactions. 

Sam and Matt being the level headed ones, asking questions and trying to figure out why they should believe the strange guy with a flamethrower on his back. Jess and Emily were squished together in an armchair, one of Jess’s tiny hands clinging to the sleeve of Em’s jacket. The two of them chiming in with the occasional snide comment and spending the rest of the time whispering to each other. 

Chris was sitting down, his forearms resting on his knees as he stared at the ground. Trying to process all of the information, his head jerking up occasionally to ask a question with an intensity that made Mike feel like Chris was begging for the question to make the stranger admit it was all some sick joke. 

Ashley was standing behind the couch Chris was sitting on, her face pale, one hand covering her mouth. The muffled, “oh my god’s” barely audible as she chanted it to herself. Her other arm was wrapped tight around her waist, holding herself for comfort even as she kept gravitating toward Chris. 

Josh was staring at the stranger with some kind of morbid fascination. As if he wanted to soak in every word that the man was saying. But despite his intense focus, his jokes were poor and barely succeeded in getting him the occasional dirty look from the older man. 

Hannah was shaking, almost like she was shivering, and Mike fought the urge to throw a blanket at her. She looked terrified, he saw the fear on her face click into place as the stranger described his fight with the big bad wendigo. The sounds they made. The screams. The realization in her eyes dawning at how close she had been to the monster. But even realizing the danger she had put herself in, she didn’t really understand.

She didn’t understand that she would have become that monster. That she would be trapped. Starving. Desperate. Desperate enough to dig up her own sister and commit a sin so bad that it would twist her into a soulless monster. That she would hunt her own friends down. Killing Jess. Matt. Popping Josh’s skull between her hands like it was a grape. Shoving her hand through Sam’s stomach with enough force to lift her off the ground. 

Mike’s stomach twisted unpleasantly, nausea beating against his stomach like a starving ice monster trapped in an asylum cell. 

He hadn’t known what to expect from Beth. She had been quiet. Just listening. Standing between her siblings, one of her hands clutched in Hannah’s, their fingers intertwined so tightly that they were white and bloodless. The nausea reared up again and Mike forced himself to look away from their hands. 

Sam’s face was steady, safe, her brows furrowed and lips pursed as she listened to the stranger talk. The rough gravelly texture of his voice almost fading into the background. Sam knew now. She could help. Protect their friends. Keep them from doing anything stupid this time. Keep Mike from fucking up again. 

“So what do we do? We have to get off the mountain right?” Sam asked when the stranger paused for a moment to clear his throat. 

“In the morning. Once the sun comes up.” He said gruffly, “They like to hunt at night but that doesn’t mean they can’t come out in the day. So you stick together and you pray real hard.” 

“Never split the party…” Ashley mumbled under her breath, earning her a half smile from Chris. 

“Wait, we’re just supposed to leave? Leave these things, these wendigo, up here?” Josh stepped more into the rough semicircle they had formed, his arms gesturing broadly and pointlessly. 

Josh had a particular way of moving, especially when he got intense and focused. Big boisterous movements and intense eye contact. Like he could will people into going along with whatever his latest plan was just by making it seem exciting. Not to mention how tactile he was. Constantly slinging an arm over someone’s shoulders and hanging off of them or bumping his shoulder against whoever he was next to. Doing stuff like stealing Beth’s beanies or Chris’s jackets. 

But Josh also had a particular way of coming up with bad ideas. 

“We’ve gotta get rid of it right? Tr-trap it or whatever you’ve been doing right? We could help you!” Josh’s voice grew faster with his eagerness as he spun on his heels toward the older man. 

“No, no way.” Ashley shook her head quickly, “That sounds like a suicide mission.” 

“The girl’s right.” The old man grunted out, narrowing his eyes at Josh who immediately let out an offended noise. “You kids leave the mountain first thing tomorrow. Until then, just stay out of sight.” 

“You’re not my dad. You can’t just make us leave.” Josh frowned, his forehead creasing with displeasure, “This mountain belongs to our family, we aren’t just gonna leave some monsters just running around up here.” 

“Josh…” Hannah said quietly and Josh looked over to her. 

Mike frowned to himself, Hannah looked terrified and it seemed like Josh was finally noticing it. Josh frowned as he swayed a bit in place. Still drunk. Probably more drunk than anyone else in the room. 

“I’ve got to see this for myself, right? I mean, this is crazy right?” Josh babbled a bit, “Hannah just imagine the potential! This-this could be my hit!” 

“Josh… you’re drunk…” Hannah shook her head, “This isn’t safe. We should go back and tell Mom and Dad…” 

Beth nodded at her side in agreement and Josh looked around for support. 

“No…” a disappointed whine pulled at his voice, “Come on? Nobody?” 

His gaze paused on Chris and Ashley first who both avoided his gaze and shook their heads.

“This is too fucked up for me. I’m done.” Emily shook her head and Jess immediately chimed in her agreement. 

“Yeah, that sounds like a bad idea Bro…” Chris finally said.

“Sammy? Mike?” Josh turned to them and Mike felt his heart stop. 

Getting off of the flipping mountain was all that mattered. Keeping everyone alive. Getting them back home. Avoiding Hannah and Beth’s joint funeral. That was what mattered most. Josh would really never forgive himself if he was the reason that they stayed and someone got hurt. Mike would never forgive himself if he let them stay. 

“It would be the perfect scenario!” Josh’s eyes lit up with glee as he gestured between the three of them, “The hot blonde, two sexy guys, monster hunting at night, saving the day!” 

“Ugh.” Sam rolled her eyes, “This isn’t some movie Josh. Hannah is right. We should go back and tell the authorities.” 

“Mike? Michael?” Josh turned hopeful eyes on him. 

“…Let’s talk Man, come here, huddle up.” Mike cleared his throat a bit and nodded to the kitchen. Josh didn’t understand. Didn’t understand any of it. How he would break. How sick he would get. The shit he would do. 

Josh nodded and made his way toward the kitchen on wobbly legs. Mike glanced over his shoulder briefly to the group. Ashley had moved to sit beside Chris on the couch and was leaning up against him. Hannah and Beth were watching Mike and Josh leave the room. Matt and Sam were looking at the old man who had taken to rifling through his bag for something. Emily and Jess were still curled up together but Emily was shooting daggers at Mike. 

Mike turned away, though the heat of Emily’s glare was still present. He rested his back against the kitchen counter and let out a long breath. Josh was fiddling around with an orange from the fruit bowl when Mike looked up to see the eager expression on his face. 

“Mikey, just think about it. We’d be heroes Man.” Josh’s voice was soft but filled with excitement. 

“Josh this is a bad idea. You don’t know these things. They could-would kill you.” Mike had to make him understand. 

“We would be careful. That old guy knows how to deal with them, right? He could tell us how to beat them.” Josh said. 

“Okay. Say we do.” Mike said shortly, “Here’s a scenario. We are in a mineshaft. Where they live. We have no weapons. It’s dark. We are waist deep in, probably disease filled, water. Something grabs me. Pulls me under. What do you do?”

“I dive in after you.” The answer came immediately. 

That wasn’t what Josh had done. Mike had been alone under the water. The wendigo’s hands clawing all over him, grabbing and pulling mindlessly. Hard as stone where Mike kicked and thrashed. Most of his air already lost from the struggle. He couldn’t see shit. Couldn’t think. Just fought to get away. 

Then the wendigo had let him go. She could have kept a hold of him if she wanted to. Held him under water until he drowned. Smashed his skull. Tore into his flesh with her claws. She could have done any of that but she didn’t. She let go. Mike pushed and swam and then he froze. Plastered himself against a rock and just stood there. 

He didn’t dive in after Josh either. He froze. No. Worse than that. He knew what he was doing. He was staying still. So it wouldn’t see him. He just let it go after Josh. Let her kill Josh. To save his own ass. 

“Mike? Hey. Mike.” There was a hand on his shoulder and adrenaline flooded Mike’s veins. “Ow, fuck bro.” 

It was Josh’s voice. Of course it was. And it was also Josh’s hand that he was currently trying to crush…

Mike released his grip quickly. He didn’t even remember grabbing him. Fuck. 

“You okay…? You kinda abandoned ship for a minute there.” Josh said slowly. 

“You would die.” The words tumbled out of Mike’s mouth.

“What?” Josh frowned as his brow creased.

“If you dove in after me. You would die. You can’t see underwater. You can’t fight it. It would be stupid. Why should we both die…?” Mike met Josh’s eyes desperately.

“You’re my friend, Bro.” Josh shrugged, “If I could try to save you then I’m going to try. Gotta earn the dashing hero title somehow, right?” 

“Right…” Josh was a better friend than him. 

“New scenario…” this wasn’t working, he couldn’t convince Josh like this, “We go with that guy to fight these things. You know your sisters will come too, don’t you?” 

“Then we can be a badass monster killing family together. And if the twins come, then Sam probably will, and I bet I can get Chris to come too.” Josh said, a wide smile stretching across his face. 

“Josh, what if something happened to them? If Hannah or Beth got hurt? Or died?” Mike felt a little sick thinking about it happening again. The look on Josh’s face didn’t help either. The way it went paler and hard, his brows furrowing and lips pursing together.

“It wouldn’t… I wouldn’t let that happen. I’d never let anything happen to my sisters.” Josh shook his head and swallowed thickly. 

Mike rubbed his face roughly and sighed. Of course Josh wouldn’t. But he was sick or something. Sam had tried to explain it after she found Mike in the sanatorium. Something about a therapist and medication and stuff that Mike now wished he paid more attention to. And Josh didn’t know that he already lost his sisters once. 

He didn’t know how off the rails he went. How fucked up his idea of a prank was. How they really should have been more suspicious when Josh invited them all back up to the place his sisters went missing. They should have known something was up. But why Josh hadn’t targeted him and Jess… that still didn’t make sense to him. He targeted Chris and Sam. Sam was against the prank on Hannah from the start. Chris was knocked out all night. Like Josh was…

“I know Josh…” Mike let out a sigh, “But… going after that thing at all just puts them at risk. I don’t want that. You don’t want that.” 

“Yeah… I guess so.” Josh rubbed the back of his head and turned his back to Mike. He opened the fridge and the sound of clanking bottles made Mike sigh. 

“I know it’s lame Man, but it’s for the best…” Mike told him and Josh let out a long loud sigh.

“Sure. Sure. Let’s just do the boring thing. Never live up to our full hero potential.” Josh still sounded a little put out by the idea of it but Mike assumed he wouldn’t be grabbing more beers if he planned on going monster hunting. Probably. 

“Thank you…” Mike sighed. Josh was silent for a few minutes and Mike could hear the low murmur of voices from the living room. Then the hiss of two beer bottles opening and he turned back to see Josh waving one by his head. The glass bottle was near ice cold when Mike took it and he took a long swig of it. It helped. Wasn’t really as strong as Mike wished it was but keeping a clear head was probably smart…

“Let’s go rejoin the party. I’m sure they miss us.” Josh said, bumping Mike’s shoulder with his own as he headed back toward the living room. Mike took another long swig of his beer, already halfway gone. He considered grabbing another beer, or something stronger, before following but the thought of letting Josh out of his sight made something uneasy curl in his stomach. 

Everyone but the flamethrower guy was still in the living room. Mike looked around and frowned. 

“Hey, where’d he go?” Mike asked, looking the group over.

“He uh left.” Chris responded after a moment, “Said that he only came to warn us…”

“Then he just left us to die.” Emily said, bitterness staining every word. 

“We aren’t going to die.” Beth said. Whether it was those words, who it was coming from, or the beer settling on top of the whiskey, something made his stomach turn. 

The house was a freaking maze and Mike definitely didn’t have the energy to sprint to the bathroom. Kitchen was closer.

And one short jog later, Mike found himself hunched over the sink, several drinks and what he managed to eat of breakfast that morning made a reappearance. He pawed blindly for the faucet handle and let the water wash away the mess as he continued to cough and gag. He felt like shit. Aside from the usual ‘just got sick so I feel gross’ feeling, just completely like shit. Of course Beth didn’t think she was going to die. She was eighteen. He was eighteen. They should have had their whole lives ahead of them.

Not to fall off of a fucking mountain and die. Not to be cannibalized by her own twin sister…

Mike started heaving again. God the mines were awful. If the sanatorium was bad, the mines were a million times worse. The heads. The bodies hung on meat hooks. Just waiting to be eaten too.

It was all so fucked up. 

None of it made sense. He shouldn’t be here in the first place. He should be dead. They all should be. It was real. All of it. He had felt everything. From the snowball fight with Jess to the fire at the end. He was burned alive. That was real. It had to be real.

But this… none of this felt real…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll do my best to keep writing while I am still focused on Until Dawn, but I am also planning to update my other Until Dawn fic soon (and I have about two other ficlets started that I haven't posted...)
> 
> And as I'm sure you've noticed, I am awful about updating on a routine so I am super sorry about that. I also update at probably the worst possible time of day... at least this one is before midnight in my timezone!
> 
> Also if anyone is interested in putting their thoughts in, this was originally going to be a time loop fic but I don't know if I should keep it as a loop (ex. Mike keeps repeating the experience with different decisions) or have it be more of a time travel fic (ex. Mike only travels back one time and the story continues from here) so if you have a preference feel free to drop it in the comments!

**Author's Note:**

> Updates will probably be infrequent, I don't have a definite ending yet in my head but I am excited about writing more so we will see where this goes. Feel free to make suggestions and I would be happy to try and include them, and just a note: I love Mike and I love making him cry so be prepared for some of that.


End file.
